This invention relates in general to electronic circuits and, more specifically, to automated testing of electronic circuits with scan chains.
Scan circuitry is used to test digital integrated circuits and circuit cards. Internal scan allows serially shifting an input scan signal into a scan chain of F/Fs of a digital integrated circuit to load them with an initial state. Once loaded, the integrated circuit can be clocked in the normal operational mode. Once normal operation stops, an output scan signal can be read out of the scan chain for analysis to confirm proper operation of the integrated circuit. Similarly, circuit card wiring can be tested using boundary scan techniques that test an integrated circuit input/output pins.
Testing of digital integrated circuits can be performed overseas and/or in test facilities with varying levels of security. Some organizations only allow the digital circuits they use to be tested domestically. Some feel the inputs and/or outputs to the internal or boundary scan chains could be used to gain information about the circuits that they test. Physical security measures are conventionally used to protect the test vectors from exploitation. For example, the test vectors and circuit testers that store them are available to a limited set of individuals. Physical security and screening is generally seen as being exploitable.
In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label.